TrueBlue4ever

Was at the game last night in person (as I have for the past 40 years) so doing the day after catch-up of the GDT page. Random thoughts from the multiple posts. Sorry if it is long, just figured I would compile things in one comment (and the site would merge things anyway). Attendance was 23,750. Crowd probably looked smaller because 1. Folks with both Bomber and Jets tickets may have opted for the latter since those ducats are much more expensive 2. Some folks will opt for watching something indoors in October so may have chosen TV or the Jets game in person over this, but it was a nice October night, slight chill but nothing If you know how to dress 3. The stadium always looks emptier thanks it is because of the design allowing fans to watch from the concourse, especially the north end Rum Hut rather than sitting in their seats. Sask did it better in new Mosaic after studying our stadium build by making sure the concessions were hidden from view forcing fans to their seats to watch, and creating the Pilsner zone standing area rather than concourse congregation. Bombers have tried to retrofit the north end zone with the standing room only party zone with limited success. This is what 1984 was like. Going to the park to see a guaranteed win with surgical precision. The question was not “will we win?” but rather “will we win by 20 or by 30?” Tonight’s game may rank as the all-time most completely dominant win I have ever seen a Bomber team present in my time attending. There were higher scoring offensive games like 68-14 against Hamilton in 1991, the 58-2 demolition of the star-studded Als in 1981, and a 56-0 beat down of Saskatchewan in 1986 that is the all-time biggest shutout in CFL history which is the closest comparable. In that game the Riders got down to our 10 yard line or so once but threw a pick, and never crossed centre field any other time. BC last night I think got down to our 31 yard line at best and only crossed centre field twice maybe? We was honoured along with John Hufnagel at a game in the 1990’s and named to the Blue Bomber hall of fame in 1992. I think he was coaching in the NFL during the hall of fame induction game and could not attend (my brain is hazy on that detail) but at the other ceremony I remember him being gifted a framed jersey and saying “I appreciate this gift, now I can return the jersey I stole from the locker room back in 1987 when I left”. Lucky enough myself to see 4 Grey Cups now. My experience in 2019 was not weeping but just sheer relief that the drought was over. Watching with friends that day and it was remarked how quiet I was when they figured I would be bouncing off the roof. I realized what a mental toll all the losing had on me and was more numb than joyful. Repeated watchings of the win brought more exuberance later. I cannot think think of an argument where the 1984 team (touted by Bob Irving as the best team he ever saw), the 1987 squad (regards by mode than a few media types as maybe the best team ever to not play on a Grey Cup) or the 1990 defence (seen as the best Bomber defence ever by most historians) surpass this team and certainly the defence. This is history unfolding in front of us. Soak it in, these seasons are once in a generation things to witness. I am really torn with this statement. On one hand, I agree this team is on pace for something extraordinary, but nothing should be set in stone until the end of the year. Winning and losing championships has a massive effect on how a team is regarded in the annual of history, and to paraphrase Dennis Green, I am not ready to “crown their ass” just yet. Bill Simmons did a whole piece in ESPN on the then 18-0 Patriots debating if they were the best team of all-time, and had a book ready to go out, with the quiet caveat “if they win it all” but most assured that they would. And we all remember 2001 and 14-4 and those useless 8-10 Stamps. In fact, 11 Bomber teams before this have had a winning percentage of .722 or higher, only 3 times have they won the Cup. And of the top 10 all-time teams by regular season winning percentage, only 3 won the Cup that year. All I know is Mike O’Shea would say publicly “we are 0-0 trying to go 1-0 this week” and would tell his squad to tune out the reviews. So I could have chosen from a bunch of quotes to dig into this pet peeve. Maybe I am reading the mood wrong, but I continually wonder why people here waste their time going to a rival fan site in the first place, why they go looking for praise for our team when that is never going to happen, and why they seemingly get offended when they don’t get that validation from another source? It is amusing to see that we live rent-free in other fan bases’ heads with their jealous comments, but to me at least it comes across line they are equally loving rent free in our heads when we mention their comments and how we don’t get out due credit. Who gives a rat’s ass what they think? If one enjoys their suffering, OK, but it seems like it gets noses out of joint here when they don’t throw that internet validation our way, and I don’t know why anyone would get bothered by it, or seek it out if they knew it would irk them? But that’s just me, I guess. Life is too hard and sad enough already to need to go out of one’s way and find things to get upset about, IMO. Enjoy the ride, and don’t worry if people you care nothing about don’t like you either. Kongbo was on the sidelines in a bit of a snit with Hansen I’m the 4th quarter and then Jeffcoat came to calm him down, just before he got hurt. Wasn’t sure what it was about (playing time, missed assignment?) but he stuck out in a sea of happiness on that bench when they were up 37-0. Anyone notice that or hear anything about that? From my review of the history books, has never happened. and they have only ever played 5.5 games in December (all Grey Cups, the 0.5 being the two-day fog bowl game in 1962). As noted by others, refers to a BC shoutout. And a good kickoff game including a single and a special teams tackle. Admirable effort from a dead man walking. See my comments above about being upset about what Rider fans think of us. Patience. This is what the mid-80’s and 2001 were all about. Great to see it back. Been a long time coming. The only game I actually long for “revenge” for is the 1996 playoff game where we lost 68-7 to the “don’t call them that”’s. Because they blatantly cheated and got away with it, and ran up the score in the process. Losing big happens and teams will have lopsided results on either side of the ledger against another opponent, but the fraudulent way that result transpired makes me long for revenge in this one instance.

I was drinking at 12:01 am this morning, and I am an hour ahead of you Albertans. Silver medal for you. Huzzah for time zones! 😄

Nice save, man! 👍👍👍

Agreed. This is a non-starter, except we can all agree that if you don’t attend the games in person at IG Field, you cannot be looked at as a “true fan” and any excuse like “I live in a different Province” is weak, lame, and a pure cop out. Right Noeller? 😉

Remember that announced attendance for them is seats sold, not fans in the building. And they have a locked in 13,000 for every game with their season ticket base. So a walk up of 886 is kind of shocking. I sensed a shift when they started the quarter pack sales this year, and read an article in The Athletic that said all teams were struggling post-pandemic to sell full season packages, as fans became used to not attending in person and saving their money. So they were reverting to limited game packages. The second wave of 5 year renewals is up this year, and I know a few who are opting out. I think the lack of newness, the long term commitment in price, the individual ticket prices, the sheer amount of nights it eats up a year and all ancillary costs, are all leading to a downward trend. Curious how low it would go if the team were actually bad.

Everyone just cool out. COOL OUT!

I’m no doctor but know a bit about knee injuries. Given where he grabbed his leg in the back, could also be hamstring tear or posterior cruciate ligament. But I suspect we will hear more if it is season-ending or requires surgery. As for Brady, not all of us were condemning him early on. Actually, I was very impressed in the last Edmonton game how he was timing his blocks better a la Harris, and hitting the hole aggressively and confidently when he made his reads. We have a great luxury in letting him grow into the role over the next 4 games with less than the usual pressure given our lofty standing. And Augustine is most capable as well. A platoon style approach would not bother me at all. Keep them all fresh and not worn down while also giving them both healthy reps. Hey, that reminds me, I just picked up your Xmas present. 😉

Bring back LaPo! Running game was gangbusters under his watch. 🤣

👍

@Rich, I got my votes in early, so not a personal concern, but it appears the poll was locked at 6:30 am this morning when you indicated it would be closed at 6:30 pm.

Note to self, don’t hire Goalie as your agent. 😉

PVR the HNIC and take in the glorious first place coronation in person.

Health care workers are now getting their third (booster) shots, so many average citizens who are double vaxxed could be due.

Not too crazy. NHLers are travelling a lot in the US, where infection totals are way higher and vaccination rates are definitely lower.

Who were you thinking of specifically?

No worries, thanks for the intel.

OK, you said confirmed so I thought I had missed an announcement. Last I heard was ”doubtful” for Saturday.

Mourtada has a better chance of hanging around than we have of seeing Streveler back here this year. Where was this news? I did not see or hear anything from the club.

Well, not part-time, star, not Bailey, Lawler or Bryant, and would force us to shuffle our game day roster a bit are all hints to my mind. Not trying to bust your chops here Mike, we all love the inside info you give, just don’t want you to get any heat from the club for discussing an inside issue that does have a privacy component to it, just for the sake of satisfying the curiosity of the chattering masses here, myself included. We can all guess names and if nothing is said, no one is closer to figuring out the masked singer. Like you have said, should be a non-issue by playoff time anyway.

She’s not at home right now, is she?

If you don’t want to out him, then you really should not be dropping hints. It is a health privacy issue in a way.

Bombers keep upping the ante on the rest of the CFL.

You got me. I’m James Bond. Maybe, but there are a bunch of non-vaxxed NFL players and as far as I know no mandate. Just spitballin’ with my guess. Could be anyone, But if it is someone currently on the team who has been here a while, they would have a pretty isolated life if not vaccinated, given the passport requirements to get into most public places, including IG Field.